by Edward Cox
Van Bam looked up as more flashes of purple energy danced upon the surface of the gigantic, liquid portal that formed Nowhere Ascending. His vision then shifted back to the cracked stained glass window of the chapel of the Timewatcher.
Namji’s voice became solemn. I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this, Clara, but right now you might just be the most dangerous human that ever existed …
‘Hello, Fabian.’
His strength returned, his hope rekindled, Moor looked up at Hagi Tabet, hanging on her web of leather tentacles in the Nightshade. The Resident’s voice retained its airy, disassociated quality, but she appeared calmer, saner than she had since her reanimation, and, perhaps, a little smug.
‘Lady Asajad claims you have news for me,’ Moor said.
‘Indeed.’ Tabet’s eyes filled with water. ‘It would seem that you were right about the empath all along.’
Moor’s hands shook and he clenched them into fists. ‘Tell me she knew where the Timewatcher hid Oldest Place, Hagi.’
Tabet answered with a triumphant expression. Moor’s relief almost forced a laugh from his mouth.
‘Where is it?’ he demanded.
Tabet averted her watery gaze and idly fondled the pink, fist-sized bud at her navel. ‘I do not know,’ she whispered. ‘Marney hid her secret in a place I cannot see.’
Moor glared up at her. ‘Hagi …’ His voice was full of warning. ‘I do not have the patience to play a game of riddles with you. Did the empath know how to reach Oldest Place or not?’
‘The answer is not as simple as you would like, Fabian.’ Tabet smiled at him almost lovingly. ‘At one time, Marney most certainly knew the location of Oldest Place. But she stopped remembering it.’
‘That makes no sense,’ Moor said hotly. ‘You have all her experiences, Hagi. Everything she ever knew is yours to see.’
‘Yes, including the moment in which the empath purposely removed all knowledge of Oldest Place from her mind,’ Tabet replied. ‘I have found the residue of a memory, Fabian. Marney transferred the location of Lord Spiral’s prison from her mind to the mind of someone else.’
‘Transferred it? To whom?’
‘Another magicker.’ Tabet’s eyes moved from side to side, clearly recalling the memories stolen from an empath. ‘It occurred during the minutes before you captured her, Fabian. With a kiss, Marney planted the information inside the mind of a girl. Her name is Clara.’
The name struck a chord with Moor and he clenched his teeth. ‘The changeling?’ he said, voice rising in pitch. ‘The whore?’
‘Marney used the changeling as a vessel to prevent you gaining the means to release Lord Spiral. I think she knew you were coming for her, Fabian, though I cannot tell how she knew.’
Moor’s mind raced. The changeling called Clara had been the bait Moor used to capture Marney. Clara was nothing, no one, a piece of meat to attract an animal. Who could have warned the empath? Who could have frightened her into trusting someone expendable with something so important?
‘Tell me where the changeling is now, Hagi,’ he growled. ‘Where is she hiding?’
Tabet seemed to have genuine sympathy in her rheumy eyes as she stared down at Moor. ‘Fabian, you were right in your beliefs concerning the empath, but you were wrong to suppose the Relic Guild are still in Labrys Town. They have escaped.’
‘Impossible,’ Moor said adamantly. ‘There are no doorways left to the humans!’
‘Be assured that I am not mistaken on this,’ Tabet said calmly. ‘I do not know how they achieved it, but the magickers escaped the Labyrinth, and they took Clara with them. And the location of Oldest Place is with the changeling.’
An icy pang of panic gripped Moor’s insides. ‘How can you be sure of this, Hagi? What did you see?’
‘I saw what we need to know,’ the Resident stated. ‘I did as you asked, Fabian. I studied every second of the empath’s life, and I found a discrepancy. A shattered memory, the fragments of which Marney had scattered throughout her life experiences. But I pieced them together, and I saw things that have not yet come to pass.’
Moor sobered instantly. ‘What?’
‘Marney had gained a glimpse of the near future.’
‘No more games, Hagi,’ Moor said, struggling to keep his voice below a shout. ‘Speak plainly. What has the empath seen?’
‘She saw where Clara is going to be. And soon, Fabian.’ The madness returned to Tabet’s eyes, and a tear ran down her cheek as she swayed on her web. ‘Oh my,’ she sighed excitedly. ‘They don’t know it themselves yet, but the magickers of the Relic Guild are heading for a place that we, the last of the Genii, know all too well.’
The churches and chapels of the Timewatcher were ubiquitous throughout all the realms. It often seemed that a place of prayer was within walking distance wherever the location, in whichever House. It therefore came as no surprise to Van Bam that a chapel should be found in the gaps between the Houses; even here, in this mammoth portal called Nowhere Ascending, on this rising level that had been designed for death.
The chapel was dusty and grimy, unused for some time. There were two rows of bench seats, and Van Bam sat in the front row on the right side, facing a tapestry on the wall. In a state of disrepair, it depicted the Timewatcher as a soft cloud with a sun at its centre, spreading rays of light. Before the tapestry was an altar; upon it sat a small copper bowl half-filled with sand; and, stuck into the sand, an incense stick burned.
Van Bam mulled over the words of Hillem as he watched lazy tendrils of smoke coiling into the air, and he wondered how long it would be before the Aelfir’s faith in the Timewatcher died completely.
He breathed the earthy scent of the incense smoke, and sighed. ‘May the Timewatcher welcome your spirit to Mother Earth,’ he whispered, and was thankful that Gideon had no caustic opinion to offer.
Alone with his thoughts, Van Bam considered the facts which the Aelfirian Relic Guild had recently brought to light.
The avatar had been more forthcoming with the information it had shared with Namji and her colleagues. The revelation that the Genii had returned to free Spiral from Oldest Place was in itself disturbing enough; but Gideon had earlier told Van Bam just how much more the avatar had shared with Namji.
The connection between Clara and Marney was now clear, and it made the illusionist comprehend what a truly dangerous situation the Relic Guild had been delivered to.
Van Bam looked at the green glass cane in his hands. So many questions, so many riddles – did nothing have a straight answer anymore?
‘Many Aelfir believe that smoke will guide a spirit to Mother Earth and the loving arms of the Timewatcher.’
Startled, Van Bam turned to see Namji making her way down the aisle.
‘Do you still have faith, Van Bam?’ she asked. ‘After all this time?’
‘Occasionally, faith is all that keeps me sane in my old age,’ Van Bam replied. With a small smile, he faced the tapestry again. ‘And in your old age, it seems you have improved your skills as a magic-user.’
Without replying, Namji sat next to Van Bam and sniffed the smoky air. ‘Sandalwood,’ she said with a tone of approval.
The smile fell from Van Bam’s face. ‘It was Marney’s favourite scent,’ he said.
‘Oh …’ Namji joined the illusionist in watching the smoke rise. ‘I’m sorry, Van Bam.’ She spoke with an odd mixture of sympathy and apology. ‘The avatar warned me that Marney might not be coming with you.’
A moment of silence passed.
‘The truth is,’ said Van Bam, ‘it has been many years since Marney and I were close – not since I became Resident. But …’
‘But good memories have a habit of lingering?’ Namji suggested.
‘Yes, I suppose you could say that.’
Instinctively, Van Bam paused, allowing for a gap in which Gideo
n’s voice could offer an abrasive remark concerning the illusionist’s sadness over the death of his old lover. But again the ghost of the ex-Resident remained silent.
Van Bam faced Namji. She was staring at the image of the Timewatcher on the wall.
‘Over the years, I occasionally wondered what happened to you,’ he told her. ‘To be honest, I believed you were dead. When the Genii War ended, and we heard of the Timewatcher’s retribution, I naturally assumed that Mirage and all its citizens had been sentenced to the Retrospective along with the other enemy Houses.’
Namji was quiet for a moment. ‘I went into hiding, and waited the war out,’ she said, voice low. ‘I didn’t get a chance to escape Mirage until the Last Storm happened.’
The Last Storm: the day the Genii War ended. The day the Timewatcher’s armies launched a massive, synchronised offensive against every House and stronghold under Spiral’s control, and the Genii were defeated.
‘As far as I know,’ Namji continued, ‘I was the only Aelf who got out of Mirage.’ She sighed and looked at Van Bam, her large Aelfirian eyes scouring his face. ‘It’s disturbing, don’t you think? Spiral subjugated a lot of the Aelfir, forced them into serving him and the Genii. But that wasn’t a consideration for the Timewatcher. She showed little mercy at the end of the war.’
Her eyes dropped, contemplating the horrific past as though for the first time in years. Namji might have been showing the signs of age – the wrinkles around her eyes; her hair still black but streaked with grey – but to Van Bam, her delicate face still seemed as young as the last time he had seen her.
‘The Thaumaturgists didn’t discriminate,’ Namji said. ‘Every Aelf who served Spiral, whether by choice or subjugation, was sentenced to the Retrospective. I shudder to think of how many innocent people were punished, Van Bam. I suppose I was one of the lucky ones.’
The shades of her emotions waxed and waned with sadness, anger, guilt.
‘Piecing your life back together must have been hard, Namji.’
She managed a smile and patted Van Bam’s hand. ‘Oh, it hasn’t been such a bad life – though I never found a place that felt like home again.’ She snorted a laugh. ‘I considered getting into politics. After all, at that point I’d spent most of my life being trained to govern people. But I was never quite sure if I’d managed to escape Mirage unnoticed. What if someone discovered that I had not gone to the Retrospective with the rest of my people? I decided to keep a low profile. I travelled around. And, yes, I improved my skills with magic along the way.’
‘The life of a wanderer, eh?’ Van Bam said kindly. ‘And things remained this way until you met the avatar?’
‘Pretty much.’ Namji patted Van Bam’s hand again. ‘I always wondered what became of you and Angel, though. I have to admit, I didn’t believe you had made it back to the Labyrinth alive.’
Van Bam felt a chill of remorse. He watched the tendrils of scented smoke coiling up towards the ceiling, guiding lost souls to Mother Earth.
‘Namji,’ he said, voice sombre, ‘Angel never made it home from Mirage.’
Namji looked at him sharply. ‘Oh.’ Her shoulders slumped. ‘Damn.’
‘It was a long time ago.’ Van Bam leaned against the backrest on the bench, his head filled with memories of a distant past. Once again, Gideon had no comment to make. ‘So much lost, so many friends dead, so much doubt. I wonder if there was a true victor in the Genii War. It has been such a long time since anyone required the services of the Relic Guild.’
The smile returned to Namji’s face. ‘But now you’re needed more than ever.’
‘Ah, but some agents are more important than others, yes?’ Van Bam raised an eyebrow at the Aelf. ‘I assume you have a good reason for keeping Clara unconscious.’
Namji gave a sheepish chuckle. ‘You always were a little difficult to fool, Van Bam.’
‘Oh, I seem to remember that you knew how to give me a run for my money,’ Van Bam replied. ‘But, actually, Gideon told me. I trust your meeting with Clara went well?’
Namji stared at him. ‘Gideon said he wouldn’t tell you what I was doing.’
‘Gideon is not always a man of his word.’
‘You know everything?’
‘I know that Marney hid the location of Oldest Place in Clara’s mind to stop Fabian Moor finding it.’
Namji sighed. ‘I came here to explain the situation to you, Van Bam. Gideon might’ve jumped ahead of me, but I have my reasons for caution. Councillor Tal knows, but I haven’t told Hillem and Glogelder.’ Van Bam could tell by her emotional shades that it was the truth. ‘Have you told Samuel?’
‘Not yet.’
Namji was thoughtful for a moment, clearly pondering how best to express it. ‘Considering how dangerous the information is, I thought it safer for Clara to keep her unconscious – at least for now.’
‘How did Clara take the news?’
‘Surprisingly well. But it’s Samuel that worries me most, Van Bam. I get the impression that sometimes his magic can encourage him to be a little merciless.’
It was an understandable concern, Van Bam reckoned. If Samuel ever reached a situation where he believed all other options had been exhausted, then his magic might indeed encourage him to make decisions that were as emotionless as the bullets in his gun. But …
Van Bam shook his head. ‘Samuel is not such a slave to his magic that he would kill Clara just because the information she carries is so entirely dangerous. Besides, the Genii are creatures of higher magic. I am not convinced they would necessarily need Clara alive to extract the information in her head.’
‘Not a cheery thought, but I suppose you’re right,’ Namji conceded grimly.
‘I had assumed that Fabian Moor had used Marney as a means to enter the Nightshade. But now …’ Van Bam tried to push away images of Moor exacting his fury upon Marney once he had discovered she no longer carried the information he craved. ‘Explain this to me, Namji,’ he said in a low voice. ‘How is it that Marney knew how to find Oldest Place to begin with? We have had no contact with the outside worlds for decades. How did Fabian Moor know she knew?’
‘I can’t answer that,’ Namji replied. ‘The avatar never told me.’
Van Bam huffed his frustration. ‘Clara is carrying the location of Oldest Place. And as long as we keep her safe, Fabian Moor will be unable to free his lord and master. But I doubt our purpose now is to keep running from the Genii forever.’
‘No.’
‘Then what are we to do with the information?’
‘All right. Just … hear me out first, Van Bam.’ Namji rose from the bench and faced the illusionist, wringing her hands together, her petite face filled with concern. ‘There are always gaps in whatever information the avatar gives me,’ she explained. ‘Details, specifics – things that get omitted, every time it appears to me. But I do know that it’s been influencing all of us, leading us towards a particular place and time.’
‘Yes,’ Van Bam said. ‘The avatar is a portent – a future-guide. Samuel and I deduced as much ourselves. But future-guides are conjurations, and they are always controlled by a master. Do you have any idea who is controlling the avatar?’
Namji shook her head helplessly. ‘Someone who very much doesn’t want to be seen yet.’
‘Then what is this cultivated future that we are being guided towards? An event of some kind, or a person who can use the information in Clara’s mind to our advantage? The avatar’s master, perhaps?’
‘An artefact,’ Namji said.
‘The avatar is leading us to an artefact?’
‘Look, Van Bam, what Marney transferred into Clara’s head is both a map and a key. Knowing the location of Oldest Place will activate a relic, a device the avatar calls Known Things.’
‘Known Things?’ Van Bam repeated. ‘I have never heard of an artefact with that nam
e.’
‘The avatar was in no way precise, but as far as I can tell, it has a mechanism that only Clara can unlock, with the information that Marney gave her.’
‘And what will we discover once Clara has unlocked it?’
Namji paused. ‘A secret, Van Bam, some kind of method. Known Things will show us how to kill Spiral.’
Van Bam stared at Namji for several seconds. ‘Excuse me?’
Namji raised a hand. ‘I know it seems unlikely, but the avatar was adamant.’
‘Kill Spiral?’ Van Bam stressed. ‘Only the Timewatcher is powerful enough to achieve that, Namji.’
‘What, like only the Timewatcher knows where she hid Oldest Place?’
‘That is entirely different,’ Van Bam said, more angrily than he intended. ‘I have encountered many relics in my time, and more than a few were indeed powerful weapons. But this Known Things is so potent that it can destroy the highest of all Thaumaturgists?’
Namji raised her hands. ‘I don’t know how it works, Van Bam, and I don’t know what it is,’ she said, her tone placatory. ‘I only know as much as I’ve been told.’
Van Bam rubbed his face with a hand. He looked up to the cobwebs on the chapel’s ceiling, heavy and black with dust, and gathered his thoughts. ‘Then the location of Oldest Place is either the key to Spiral’s freedom, or to his demise?’
‘If we can keep Clara away from the Genii, it’ll be the latter,’ Namji said, her expression assured. ‘Feels like I’ve been waiting an awfully long time to tell you all this.’
‘I have to admit, a part of me wishes you had kept it to yourself,’ Van Bam replied, but he knew that as extraordinary as Namji’s revelation was, it felt like the first advantage the Relic Guild had gained since Fabian Moor’s return. ‘Known Things,’ he whispered. ‘Where might we find this relic?’
‘I wasn’t told the name of the House – or if it is a House where it’s kept,’ Namji said. ‘But I know we are heading for the portal that’ll take us to it. That’s where the avatar has been leading us, Van Bam. We have to deliver Clara to Known Things.’